The One Safe Place

Tania Unsworth

Apr 2014 · Sold by Algonquin Young Readers

About this ebook

“What is this place?”

In a drought-stricken world, Devin and his grandfather have barely scraped out a living on their isolated farm. When his grandfather dies, Devin knows he can’t manage alone and heads for the nearest city to find help. But in the city he finds only children alone like him, living on the streets. Then a small act of kindness earns Devin an invitation to the Gabriel H. Penn Home for Childhood—a place with unlimited food and toys and the hope of finding a new home.

But Devin soon finds out that the Gabriel Penn Home is no paradise. A zombie-like sickness afflicts many of the children who live there—and it will claim Devin, too, unless he can become the first to find a way out of this dystopian nightmare.

“[A] chilling and engrossing tale . . . A standout.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Fast-paced and gripping. An original dystopian story.” —School Library Journal, starred review

“A timeless story that deserves to become a children’s classic for decades to come.” —The Christian Science Monitor

A Summer 2014 Kids’ Indie Next List Pick
One of the Christian Science Monitor’s 25 Best New Middle Grade Novels of 2014

Ratings and reviews

I love science fiction and honestly I think everyone should read it. It has a good plot and has the description that could take you to the whole new world. Although the end is like a cliff hanger the book is amazing to start and end with. It may be dull in some parts but I just love this book.

First off let me say that I really, really liked this debut novel from Tania Unsworth. She takes you into a world where nothing seems like it appears before your eyes and ears. It is a page turner from page one right through to the last page. The setting of this book is sometime in the future when the world has been devastated with a cosmic climate change and the survivors are split into two groups according to their wealth....the haves and the have nots. Devin, who lives in a sheltered farm with his grandfather is present when his dear, beloved caregiver passes away. Devin lovingly buries him and then strikes out for the city in order to survive. He cannot keep up the place on his own so he goes off to find others who may come back and help him maintain the farm and live with him there. Once in the city he is horrified to see that orphaned children are everywhere and the adults just pass them by and do not care about them. He struggles to find food and shelter daily and finally meets up with a smart, street-wise girl named Kit. He hears about an unbelievable place that kids can go called the Gabriel H. Penn House for Childhood and by a stroke of luck (or so he thinks)

child like zombies creepy :(

About the author

The daughter of the late novelist Barry Unsworth, Tania Unsworth spent her childhood in Cambridge, UK, before moving to America in her early twenties. She currently lives in Boston, Massachusetts, with her husband and two sons. She’s the author of The One Safe Place. Her website is www.taniaunsworth.com.